Can I Touch Your Hair?
January 4th, 2018 by jules
In my Kirkus column today, I write about this candid book.
That is here.
I’ll follow up next week here at 7-Imp with some spreads.
Stay warm, dear Imps!
January 4th, 2018 by jules
2 comments to “Can I Touch Your Hair?”
Leave a Comment
Should you have trouble posting, please contact sevenimp_blaine@blaine.org. Thanks.
Okay, CLEARLY this is The Year We Broke The Bank On Picture Books already, because this — sounds — AMAZING.
I first thought, “Hm, do littles really care if you touch their hair, unless they’re just not in the mood? Did I care?” And yes… my first clear memory of a GROWN MAN when I was four was that he ALWAYS was pulling my pigtails and messing with my hair and I LOATHED it and he did it until I was MARRIED.
Good grief.
He was a school superintendent, too, so he was in a position of authority, and — AND — in charge of minority student scholarships at my lovely Christian school. And, everyone knew we were poor… so he had the right to do to my hair what he wanted, and I stayed quiet and sweet, in part because he was an adult in authority, and also, likely, because we were taught to be sweet to everyone at school so that they didn’t think twice about our late bills or whatnot.
…now that I think of it, YUCK.
Yuck, indeed. I’m sorry that happened.
Yes, in this book, a boy asks Charles about it but then goes ahead and does it, telling him his hair “feels like a sponge.” Charles tells him, “You need to learn to wait for an answer after asking permission.” That’s just one of many poems that would be such a good conversation-starter for students.